Pain
by mugiwarawarrior
Summary: Sasuke goes back to Konoha, sent by Orochimaru, to cut off all ties. But what he happens when he has to live with a girl, Hinata? Can he relieve her pain, or will he corrupt her? Can she heal him or corrupt her? COMPLETE! 15 chapters
1. Chapter 1

SasuHina- Pain

His mission was simple: infiltrate Konoha as Motoko Jin, a traveling Mist ninja, and befriend the shinobi of Konoha and kill his old friends. It was a test Orochimaru gave him. But he never thought he would be in the village where his life was born. Where his life was ruined.

He had let his hair grow a little longer, and wore grey lenses to keep his red eyes unnoticeable. His skin was a little darker, but still pale, and his nose was slightly broken from his training. There was a small scar on the side of his jaw, but it would heal quickly.

As Sasuke walked down the street recalling all the shops, he thought, _Nothing's changed, except for the Hokage Mountain. I wonder how everyone looks now. Actually, I couldn't care more or less._

When he was lost in thought, Sasuke accidentally bumped into a girl causing her to fall and drop her grocery bags. He grunted in annoyance as he helped the girl to her feet, and she stuttered, "Gomen…I wasn't paying attention." His eyes widened as he studied her. Shoulder-length midnight hair, pearly eyes, white skin. He knew her, but what was her name? But all he said was, "Be careful next time," and walked away.

Sasuke walked to the Hokage's office to ask to be accepted as an active ninja of Konoha. Tsunade eyed him carefully, and decided to put him to a test. Of course, he passed with ease. Then she had him fight Iruka, who he defeated with little difficulty. Finally, she came to a decision:

"Alright, Jin. But I need to take precautions since these are dangerous times for our village. I'll have a trusted comrade take care of you. You'll also have to live with her of course. Shizune! Is she here yet?"

_Her?!_

Then she came in. She wore dark pants, a Chinese-style black top and ninja sandals. Velvet hair draped over her shoulders, and pale eyes gazed at him in recognition. It was the girl he bumped into.

"Hinata, this is Motoko Jin. He's a ninja from the Mist. You'll live with him and take care of him. Is that okay with you?"

"Hai."

_Hyuuga Hinata? Hmm. I expected to hear her stuttering again. She looks stronger, but…somehow even more fragile._

"Nice to meet you, Jin-kun," she said politely, bowing at the same time.

"You two are dismissed," Tsunade said.

As they walked to her place, she said, "After I show you around the place, I'm meeting up with all of my friends. Would you like to come?"

"Sure." Sasuke said simply. _How come my vocabulary is so limited? Couldn't I say more? I have to make sure people don't recognize me as Uchiha Sasuke._

They walked into her apartment. It wasn't bad. There was a living room and a kitchen. Suddenly Sasuke wondered if they had to sleep…

"There are 2 bedrooms. You can take the one on the right. It's right next to mine. Are you hungry?"

Sasuke nodded. His stomach did growl a little. But he had to ask: "You live alone right? But why do you have 2 bedrooms?"

Hinata smiled and replied, "I finally got permission from Hiashi, head of the clan, to live away from the Hyuuga compound. But on one condition: Neji had to live with me to protect me. But he doesn't live here anymore."

It might have been his imagination, but he saw glimmers of pain in her eyes. She prepared a small snack, which they ate quickly, and they left to meet her friends.

The place was Ichiraku's. Sasuke was kinda surprised to see it looking the same. He heard a familiar voice, "Oi! Hinata! Come on!" It was obviously Naruto. He had grown taller, and possibly louder. They strolled into the ramen shop and saw practically all of the rookie 9. "Hinata, who is this? Your boyfriend?" Sasuke saw Hinata blush deeply, as she replied, "No. I have orders from Tsunade-sama to look after him." Sasuke turned and saw Sakura.

"Jin-kun, this is Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan. They've been dating each other since Naruto-kun got back from 2 years of training."

"Yo! So you're from the Mist? What's it like over there?" Naruto piped in.

Sasuke replied coolly, "Well, it's foggy over there, that much is obvious."

All of a sudden, everyone heard a loud _thump_. Sasuke whirled around and saw Chouji rubbing his bottom from a fall. He didn't even want to know how he fell.

"Tch. How troublesome. Oi! Chouji! Pay attention to your surroundings and cut down on the food! Jeez, you broke the chair!"

It was Shikamaru, leader of the mission to bring Sasuke back. Shikamaru held out his hand to Sasuke, "Nara Shikamaru, nice to meet you." Sasuke shook it and said, "Motoko Jin."

Sasuke felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see Kiba, Shino…and a gigantic dog, who he guessed was Akamaru.

"Hey, we're Hinata's teammates. I hear you guys are living together now?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, it sucks, but I understand that the Hokage has to go through such procedures." Sasuke replied.

"Just make sure she doesn't get hurt. She's been in too much pain. Back then, even though it doesn't seem like it, she used to stutter a **lot**. But then something happened, and she's not the same. She looks stronger, but actually she's even more delicate. So swear you'll protect her."

Sasuke agreed (inside reluctantly), but asked, "Can I ask what happened?"

Shino replied, "She made everyone promise not to say anything. She won't even say anything."

Kiba patted Sasuke's back and said, "Don't worry! Just get to know her better. She's not bad. Actually she's way better than those Sasuke-fangirls."

"Fangirls?" Sasuke pretended to act dumb.

Kiba shuddered. "Yeah. Uchiha Sasuke, last survivor of the Uchiha clan, left the village 2 years ago. He was on the same team as Naruto and Sakura. And he was really popular back then. Girls chased him around, including Sakura and Ino."

"What about Hinata?"

"Nope. She was probably the only one. She had a crush on Naruto for a long time, but last year, she gave up on him. Because of that incident."

By now, Sasuke was quite curious. _What could have changed her so much? Is it that bad?_ But it was late, and Hinata and Sasuke went back home.

That night, he dreamed of Itachi and that terrible night. But strangely, when he couldn't stand the sight, he turned around and saw a dark-haired girl crying with her hands covering her face. She was sitting in a pool of blood, and when he touched her pale moonlight skin, the Sharingan pierced him.

Sasuke jumped up from his sleep. He was covered in sweat. He always dreamed about Itachi, but never had he seen that girl. He smelled something delicious hanging in the air and realized that he was hungry. He got dressed and walked out to see Hinata cooking in the kitchen.

She wore shorts, a T-shirt, and an apron. Her hair was tied back although strands of hair hung down. She noticed his presence, looked up, and smiled. "Are you hungry? Let's eat breakfast."

They sat down at a small table and ate their breakfast: rice, miso soup, fish, and some tea. It was simple yet extremely satisfying. But during the entire time they ate breakfast, Sasuke eyed Hinata carefully. She seemed so innocent, yet he felt she was hiding something.

"Ano, Jin-kun, were you born in the Rain village?"

Sasuke chose his words carefully. "No. I was born somewhere else, but since I traveled a lot, I don't recall where."

"What about your family?"

"We've all gone our separate ways. But what about your family? I'd at least like to know more about the person I'm living with."

Hinata's eyes dimmed and she too chose her words carefully. "My mother is dead, my father was cruel and strict, I had a sister, but the closest person to me as a family was my cousin, Neji."

Sasuke couldn't help but notice the past tense in her voice. "But why are you speaking in past tense?"

Hinata felt tears rise behind her eyes, and she didn't want to talk about it any longer. "Because it was in the past," she replied before getting up and closing herself in her room.


	2. Chapter 2

PART 2

They had been living together for about 2 weeks. They came to learn that they were a lot alike. Sasuke always thought that all girls were annoying. He thought Hinata was annoying in the past because of her irritating stuttering, but since she didn't do that anymore, so he was fine with it.

Hinata felt at peace when she was with Jin, for what reason she didn't know. She felt that he too was hiding something, but she felt that they understood each other. But she found his grey eyes disturbing, as if they weren't real.

Hinata walked out of the bathroom with a towel trying to dry her wet hair. She saw Sasuke laying his head on the table his arms outstretched. She smiled, but froze when she saw him shiver violently.

She rushed to his side and saw that he was covered in sweat, and put a hand to his forehead. _He was burning up!_ She tried to carry him to his room by carrying him on her back, but she fell to the floor under the weight. So she had no choice but to drag him.

Once Hinata got him in bed, she ran into the bathroom and wet a towel. She dabbed at it his face and wiped the sweat off. Hinata heard him murmur, "Gaa-san, Otou-san, Itachi-nii…"

Her eyes widened. _Itachi?_ Perhaps she just heard wrong. _Jin couldn't be Uchiha Sasuke! But they do look a lot alike._

Without thinking, her hand had moved to his face and touched his cheek bone. Blushing, she got up to leave, but felt something holding her back. Hinata looked down at her wrist, and saw Sasuke's hand gripping it. She looked into his clouded eyes as he said, "Just stay…for…awhile…"

_Sasuke's dream:_

_He was lying in his own pool of blood. He couldn't defeat Itachi. He had failed to fulfill his revenge. He deserved to die. _

_Suddenly out of the mist, the same girl walked out. She wore a white kimono with silver flowers embroidered. She knelt down and stroked his face. The minute she touched him, all of his pain seemed to fade. He felt…at peace…he closed his eyes just about to fall into a deep healing sleep when he felt her get up to leave. He grabbed her wrist and begged her to stay. She smiled, said nothing, and sat beside him._

Sasuke opened his eyes slowly. That girl…who was she? She seemed to melt his anger, his pain. He sat up and a towel fell in his lap. He realized that it was on his forehead. He looked around and noticed that he was in his bedroom when he fell asleep at the table. Sasuke sighed and went out to the kitchen. He noticed a note on the table that said:

"Jin-kun,

I know that you are quite ill, and so I'm out to buy ginseng. I'll be back in 15 minutes. There is miso soup sitting on the stove. Just heat it up for 5 minutes if you're hungry.

Hinata"

Sasuke felt like a child. The note brought back memories, how his mother would go out to buy ginseng when he was sick, leaving a note when he woke up.

Usually, Sasuke didn't have much of an appetite. But since he began living with Hinata, he had to admit her cooking was pretty good. Soon, Hinata arrived and prepared him a breakfast and made tea.

As they ate, Sasuke said, "Naruto and I are going to the training grounds to train." He did felt a little guilty since this girl had to accompany him wherever he went. Wait, did he just feel guilty?

Hinata replied, "Alright, I don't have any other plans for the day anyway."

She got up to wash the dishes, leaving Sasuke in confusion with his emotions.

When Sasuke and Hinata arrived, they saw Naruto standing by the 3 wooden poles. He smiled broadly and yelled, "Hi, Jin and Hinata!"

Sasuke cringed and said, "No need to yell. We're right here."

Naruto beamed and said, "Come on, let's go!"

"Where?"

"Well, Sakura-chan's birthday is tomorrow. And we're throwing a surprise birthday party! So we need to get decorations, presents, food, mus-"

"THAT'S our training?"

Naruto nodded happily, and replied, "Think of it as a mission: Mission-make-Sakura-chan's-birthday-a-success!"

Sasuke groaned, and Hinata giggle behind him. Hinata smiled and said, "Well, why not, Jin-kun? Sakura-chan is our friend. If you were so intent on training, I can train with you later today."

"Fine," Sasuke grumbled. He tried to hide the disappointment in his face. He wanted to see how much stronger Naruto had gotten, and how Naruto would fight now. Hinata probably wouldn't be as strong as Naruto, and he wasn't interested in the Hyuuga's fighting style.

They walked into a shopping district of Konoha, and soon, Naruto was out of sight, looking at gifts for Sakura. When they finally found him, Naruto was examining a silver banded ring with a small emerald. Naruto looked up and grinned broadly. "Ne, Hinata, you're hand is the same size as Sakura-chan's. Do you mind if you could try it on?"

Hinata replied slowly, "Well…not really…I guess."

Naruto beamed, "Don't worry. I'm just checking the size!"

The ring fit Hinata well, and Naruto decided to buy it. But when Hinata turned around, Sasuke wasn't there. She looked around the shop, and saw him looking at pearls. She walked up to him and touched his arm. He seemed startled and asked, "You don't seem to like gems as much as other girls do."

Hinata sighed, "Yes, you're right. They make me feel...well…not _me._ I like pearls better. They're more simple yet pretty."

Sasuke whispered, "Just like you."

Hinata couldn't hear him, which was good. He asked for a small pearl ring. He grasped Hinata's white hands and slipped the ring on with ease. Hinata's eyes widened at his action and he smiled. "You're right. Pearls look better on you." She blushed a light pink.

Sasuke returned the ring, and they left to go find Naruto again. Hinata bought a ninja pouch that could carry weapons and medical equipment for Sakura's birthday. Sasuke couldn't find a present, so Hinata insisted that her gift was from the 2 of them.

That afternoon, Sakura was extremely surprised, let alone happy. It went pretty well except for the dancing part. Sasuke was bored watching others dance. Ino and some of Sakura's friends had flirtatiously asked him to dance, but he had refused.

He saw Hinata sitting near the window gazing outside. He tapped her shoulder and she spun around startled. "What are you looking at?"

She gazed out again sadness echoed in her eyes. "It's raining."

Confused Sasuke replied, "Yes, it is. What of it?"

"The rain brings back memories. Sad memories."

Sasuke felt pity on her, and bent down. He whispered in her ear, "Dance with me? It will take a way the pain for now." At least he hoped so.

Hinata smiled and nodded. Sasuke took her hand, and placed his other hand at her back. They danced to the soft sweet music. Sasuke realized that Hinata was graceful. The way her feet were light along with the music, how she kept her body steady, the way she danced was simply beautiful. Sasuke felt the gaze of others girls on him and Hinata, but he didn't care. A wave of peacefulness washed over him as they danced.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Sakura opened it to see Kakashi. He noticed the party and turned to Sakura, "Why wasn't I invited? Never mind, no need to answer. I need Motoko Jin."

Sasuke and Hinata broke apart, and Sasuke stepped foreward. "What is it?"

Kakashi looked at him strangely, "Godaime wants to see you. Immediately."


	3. Chapter 3

PART 3

Sasuke's heart pounded as he thought, _Do they know that I'm Sasuke? How could they?_

Tsunade swung around her chair and said, "Motoko Jin, I have a mission for you."

Relief washed over him although he didn't show it.

"You'll be going with Tenten, Rock Lee, and Gai. They already know the mission. The mission is to go to the Mist and escort a Country of Fire ambassador back. Now go and pack."

Sasuke met Team Gai at the gates of Konoha. The hyperactive Gai yelled, "Yosh! Let's go! Jin, you're going on this mission because you know the Mist pretty well. Do you know the quickest way there?"

Sasuke nodded. He had traveled to the Mist a dozen times for assassinations. As they traveled, Sasuke asked, "Don't most teams consist of 4 people? Who am I replacing?" Sasuke knew the answer very well.

Lee replied quietly, "Neji." The atmosphere seemed to darken. Sasuke decided to ask nothing more.

Hinata was weary. She didn't know why. Was it because Jin was away? Or was it because she was simply tired? But she had to admit, she missed Jin.

Hinata was looking at old photos. She flipped through the album but stopped when she saw Neji. Water wet the picture. Hinata was crying and she couldn't stop. She took the picture out of the album and continued to cry. But she stopped when she looked at the next photo.

It was a photo of Rookie 9. Naruto was in the air jumping, holding 2 fingers up. But she wasn't looking at Naruto. She was looking at the boy next to him. Raven hair, black cold eyes. Eyes consumed with hatred. Pale skin.

Uchiha Sasuke. The boy everyone was trying to get back. The last survivor of the Uchiha clan. Hinata had seen many times with Naruto, but how could she not have noticed?

Uchiha Sasuke and Motoko Jin…they looked so much alike! But Jin was a bit darker, had grey eyes, and there was a scar…no. The scar had healed quickly and wasn't there anymore. Without the scar, Jin was like Sasuke's twin.

Hinata thought, _What am I going to do? Everything makes so much sense! When he slept he muttered his family's names. It must be a nightmare of the past: when the Uchiha clan was murdered. But what does Sasuke want?_

It had been a week. Team Gai had escorted the ambassador back to the capital of the Country of Fire. The team was sleeping at an inn in the city, and the next day they would head back for Konoha. Sasuke wasn't really tired, yet he still slept.

Sasuke's dream:

Itachi stood before him, his sword was dripping with blood. His parents lay in a pile not too far from where he was standing. Itachi brought the sword to his lips and licked the blood. This sent shivers sent down Sasuke's back. He couldn't move. Orochimaru appeared next to Sasuke and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulders. Inhuman power surged to Sasuke, pushing him to his feet. He lunged at Itachi, but Itachi wasn't standing there anymore. The girl in the white kimono stood before him.

Sasuke, without realizing, had pulled out his katana, which had now entered the girl's body. Blood stained her beautiful kimono, and her pale eyes were wide in horror, and she whispered hoarsely, "How…could…you?" She collapsed onto the ground. Sasuke cried out, extended a hand to her dead body on the ground, but some unknown force was pulling him away.

"NO!"

Sasuke sat up in bed. He was drenched in sweat, and his face was wet with tears. He put his hand in his hands, and breathed deeply. What did that dream mean? Recently, he had dreamed of that girl a lot, but never, never had he dreamed of killing her.

There was a knock at his door and he heard Lee's bouncy voice say, "Jin-kun! Hurry up! We're leaving to go back to Konoha!"

Once Sasuke was ready, they dashed back to Konoha which wasn't far away. They reported to the Hokage quickly, and returned home. When Sasuke got back to Hinata's apartment, he noticed that she wasn't home. _Where could she be?_

He walked to Ichiraku's, hoping that she might be there. But the only people he saw were Sakura and Naruto. He felt a little uneasy around them, but still he asked, "Do you guys know where Hinata is?"

Sakura replied, "Oh! You're back from you're mission? Well, I don't really know where she is, but she could be at the training grounds."

Sasuke thanked her and ran to the training grounds, and sure enough, there was Hinata. But Sasuke didn't go up to her to greet her. He dropped his jaw when he watched her train.

It was simply beautiful. The way Hinata fought. Chakra laced around her arm, and she was performing a Hyuuga form. She seemed to fly since she was so nimble, so graceful. She delivered a spear hand that seemed to slice even the air. She flipped back, doing a small handstand, then returned to her feet.

Sasuke finally decided to step in, "You know, you won't get much stronger, if you don't train _with _someone."

Hinata jumped at his voice, and upon seeing him, cried, "Jin-kun! How was the mission?"

"It was a success. Mind if I join you?"

Hinata shook her head, and their spar began. If you didn't know better, you'd think they would be dancing, for it was really beautiful. Sasuke didn't activate his Sharingan, and Hinata didn't activate her Byakugan. But still they seem evenly matched. Although Sasuke was faster and stronger, Hinata was more swift and agile.

Suddenly, Sasuke trapped Hinata into an arm locked. She brought one foot behind him, and pulled his foot away causing him to fall. He let go of her to regain balance. Sasuke came up with a fist, but Hinata blocked it with the side of her wrist. Hinata brought her other unoccupied hand to attack him, but he held that hand down.

In an instant, they were in a strange position. Their arms were crossed and intertwined. Their faces were extremely close. Without realizing it, Sasuke bent his head down slowly. Hinata leaned up. Their lips brushed gently. It was quick, for the instant the distance between them was closed, they sprang apart.

Hinata was looking to the side, blushing furiously. Sasuke was looking up, with a hand at his hair, feeling the blood rush to his face.

"U-umm, d-do you want to go home now?" Hinata stammered.

Sasuke agreed gratefully. By the time Sasuke got out of the shower, he smelled Hinata's cooking in the air. He realized that he missed her cooking a lot. Or maybe he just missed Hinata.

As they ate, Hinata asked, "You're a strong ninja. Did you learn from your parents?"

Sasuke replied with a mouthful, "A little. It was my brother who practically taught me everything. I noticed that your style is different than other Hyuugas."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Have you fought a Hyuuga before? They all live in Konoha."

Sasuke practically choked. _Crap, I wasn't paying attention to what I was saying._ "Well, while I was looking for you after my mission today, I passed by the Hyuuga compound. I saw 2 little kids about 8 years old practicing outside. It was a weird style, so I assumed it was the Hyuuga style."

Hinata seemed to accept that since she said, "I see."

Sasuke got up, finished with his dinner. "Well, I'm going to bed."

Hinata nodded as she gathered up the dishes to wash.

That night, Sasuke slept peacefully. He dreamed of that girl again. This time they were in a moonlit meadow. White lilies waved in the wind. The girl was holding his hand, pulling him along, laughing. The moonlight revealed her beauty. Sasuke saw that her features were familiar. He asked, "Who are you? Why can you seem to take away my pain?"

She stopped laughing and looked at him gently. Then she smiled sweetly. "You know me. Perhaps you don't realize that. But I should be asking _you_, how can you take my pain?"

With those words spoken, she reached up and placed a hand at the side of his face. She kissed him gently on the nose. She giggled and began to dance in the meadow.

­­­­

The next day, Hinata and Sasuke took a walk together through the park. Fall leaves dipped in the wind above them, some falling into Hinata's hair. Sasuke pulled them out, and then turned his head away to hide his faint blush.

There was a small ice cream stand beside a tree. Hinata looked at Sasuke and asked, "Would you like some ice cream?"

Sasuke frowned, "I don't like sweets."

"Oh, that's right." She ran off to grab a cone. _How did she know? Did I mention it before?_ She came back with vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles and a cherry on top. She frowned at her ice cream, "I…don't…really like cherries." Then she beamed, "Oh! I know!"

She took the cherry with vanilla coated at the bottom of it, and stuck it on Sasuke's nose! Sasuke froze in shock. _Did she just-_

Hinata began laughing uncontrollably. She shut her eyes to stop the tears that her laughing was conjuring. By the time she opened her eyes, Sasuke appeared again with an ice cream cone. This one was strawberry with a cherry on top. And soon, that cherry was on her nose. Sasuke chuckled.

Hinata took her vanilla cone and wiped it all over his face. Sasuke was surprised, and he wiped the ice cream from his eyes. He felt a gentle finger brush again his cheek. He saw vanilla ice cream on Hinata's hand. She licked the ice cream off her finger and pouted, "Man! That was gonna be a good cone!"

Sasuke wiped the ice cream from his face, and realized that he had a strawberry cone in his hand. She noticed too, and began stammering, "N-no. Don't even think about it."

Soon, Sasuke was chasing her across the park trying to cream her. Both were laughing and still laughing when they collapsed on the ground exhausted.

Sasuke couldn't believe it. It had been a long time since he had laughed like that. He watched Hinata as she tried to regain her breath. Then it struck him.

Hinata was the girl he was dreaming about. The way the sunlight glinted off her face and the way the moonlight shined off that girl's face was the same. The way they both melted his pain, his ire away. The way they could heal him. _But how can she just take my pain away?_

But he couldn't help not looking at her. She was perfect. Slender, graceful, strong even though she doesn't realize it. The touch of her hand was soft and gentle. Her smile was kind and understanding. She understood him better than anyone else, and he understood her.

_Why am I thinking these thoughts? Do I love her? Do I love Hinata?_


	4. Chapter 4

PART 4

Sasuke walked out of his room with bed hair. He shook his head a little to get the sleep out then froze. Something wasn't right. Hinata usually would be making breakfast, but he didn't smell the familiar cooking.

Sasuke dashed out to the kitchen to find Ino. She was looking at a fashion magazine and looked up when he ran in. She smiled and said, "Jin-kun! Good morning. I would've made breakfast, but I wasn't sure of what you would want to eat. So…what do you want to eat?"

"Where is Hinata?"

Ino sighed, walked up to him, and placed a hand on his chest seductively. "Does she really matter right now?"

Sasuke snatched her hand off his chest and threatened, "Where is she?"

Ino gulped and answered, "She asked if she could go somewhere alone to day. So I am her replacement for the day!"

"A mission?"

"Not an official one, but perhaps a personal one."

Sasuke walked back to his room, and came out with his usual attire. Ino raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to eat?"

Without looking back, Sasuke said, "I'm going for a walk."

Ino hurried to catch up with him. During their entire walk, she kept talking. It really got on his nerves, making him wonder about Hinata. He really missed her even though it hadn't been long since he woke up. She always knew how to calm him. She didn't annoy him like other girls do, especially Ino and Sakura.

They passed by a sweets shop, and saw Sakura sitting in there. Ino dashed in to gossip about the latest girl stuff with Sakura. Before they realized it, Sasuke had slipped away.

Sasuke searched every possible place for Hinata. He knew he shouldn't butt into her personal business, but he was worried about her.

As if sounding his thoughts, it began to rain. Lightly, then more heavily. _Hinata…_

Then he found her. She was in a cemetery, kneeling before a gravestone. She had one hand on it, curled into a fist. As he neared her, he noticed that she was wearing a pure black kimono. Tears streamed down her closed-tight eyes. Light sobs sounded from her throat.

Sasuke didn't know how to comfort her, and the way she seemed in pain brought terrible memories. So all he could say was, "Get up. Don't cry like that. _It's pathetic_."

Hinata turned her head, wide white eyes tainted with tears. "Pathetic? Is that how I seem like?" He could hear the fury in her voice, but he wouldn't back down.

"Yes. The way you're throwing yourself over that gravestone, it's pathetic. Now I know why people think so lowly of you."

She stood up and stared straight into his eyes, her hands were clenched beside her. "Maybe since I'm pathetic, people think I'm weak. Maybe since I'm pathetic, I was a disgraceful heir. MAYBE THAT WAS WHY I WAS DISOWNED; MAYBE THAT'S WHY NEJI-NII IS DEAD!!

Hinata screamed the last words with more tears pouring down her face, endless tears. She weakly and effortlessly beat her fists against Sasuke's chest, then dropped to her knees in sorrow. She continued to sob, and her cries constantly tore Sasuke apart. Sasuke looked at the gravestone and saw that it said "Hyuuga Neji". _How could I not notice her pain?_ He knelt down, placed a hand against her cheek and wiped away her tears. She stopped crying at his touch.

"You're not pathetic, you're not weak. You're kind and gentle. You're strong willed and strong-hearted."

He pulled her into a gentle embrace and said, "If you're ever in pain, let me dry your tears. Let me melt away your pain."

Hinata buried her face in his chest and cried her last tears. He heard her whisper, "Thank…you…so much." He looked at her face and noticed that her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. _Silly girl cried herself to sleep._

Sasuke sighed and picked her up bridal-style. He carried her home, and took her to her room. But her room was locked, probably for privacy reasons. So he took her into his room, and laid her in his bed. Sasuke saw that her kimono was wet, and wasn't sure if he should try to change her.

He removed the top layer of her kimono, and put her in a T-shirt. Sasuke felt his eyes drooping. He breathed out and lied beside Hinata. Even through his deep sleep, he sensed the warmth beside him. Every nerve in his body told him to embrace that warmth. So he did.

Sasuke woke up to find Hinata snuggled in his arms. He was thankful to be the first to wake up since he didn't want to see Hinata's reaction to their current position. Sasuke got out of bed and stood near the window.

The apartment wasn't too far from the Uchiha compound. Maybe he could go sneak out real quickly before she could wake up. Suddenly a small snake slithering on a tree branch caught his eye. It was Orochimaru's.

Sasuke opened the window, and let the snake slither into his hand. The snake immediately shed, leaving a message on its late skin. Sasuke read the message on the skin:

"Jin,

We know that you live with Hinata. Don't worry, we didn't invade your privacy, but to be safe, you need to check her room, and see if there is anything suspicious. She may know your true identity.

Snake Sannin"

The moment he finished reading it, the skin burst into flames, leaving no traces.

Sasuke was worried. _What if she really knows who I am?_ _I need to find a way to get into her room. That kinda explains why it was locked._

Sasuke walked over to Hinata, and cast a sleep jutsu over her. It would only last 30 minutes. He mentally cursed himself for not mastering the jutsu to keep her sleeping for about an hour.

He pick-locked her room knob with a thin kunai, and entered. Her room was neat, just like she was. On her bed was a photo album, and spread on her dresser were pictures of her childhood. He noticed that a lot of the pictures had Neji on them. _That's right. He was like a brother to her._ _And now he's dead._

Sasuke walked up to her dresser, and opened a drawer. There were notebooks in there, keeping record of her missions. He flipped through the pages then stopped when he saw his name in there. _I never went on a mission with her,_ thought Sasuke.

He read it and was surprised that it wasn't a mission record, it was like a journal entry:

"I am blind. I am weak. That's why I was disowned. That's why Neji-nii is dead. That's why I failed to see that my best friend, Jin-kun, is Uchiha Sasuke."

_If she hid it here, she knows that someone will become suspicious of her. She's smarter than she looks._

Sasuke flipped through more books, when he heard a voice behind him, "Jin-kun."

There was Hinata standing in the doorway. Her face was emotionless as she watched him.

Sasuke looked her square in the eye, "You know that I'm Sasuke, don't you?"

"Yes."

"How long have you known?"

"Since you left for your last mission."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"…"

"Well?" Sasuke's voice shook with anger.

"Because I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that my best friend, my confidant was the person who hurt Naruto and Sakura. But it's true."

Suddenly, Sasuke appeared before her, and struck her to the ground. She hid her surprise very well, but Sasuke knew that she wasn't expecting it.

"You know I'm going to have to kill you now, right?"

Hinata stood up with the same emotionless mask, and asked, "Can you do it?"

Sasuke scoffed, "Of course I can. Some petty little bond can't stop me!"

Hinata bravely said, "Then go ahead."

Sasuke tried to form Chidori in his left hand, but found he couldn't do it. He just couldn't hurt her. She was the one who healed him. She was the one who saved him from his bottomless nightmares. Without her, everything would come back.

Hinata whispered, "You can't. It's not just a petty little bond. It's more than that to you isn't it?" She placed a hand on his chest and continued, "You healed me. You melted away all the ugly feelings in me. I want to do the same for you. I don't care if you're Jin or Sasuke, I want to be there. I want to do this because I couldn't be there for Neji-nii."

At her light whisper and touch, Sasuke felt like he had crashed. His body felt weak, and he fell forward, but Hinata caught him, or more liked embraced him.

When he found the strength, he held her too. He whispered in her ear, "You can't do that. Nobody can heal me. You'll never be able to take my burden." He knew very well in his soul that this was a definite lie.

Hinata smiled and said, "I won't let anyone get hurt. I want to be strong, but not just for myself, for everyone, for you."

Sasuke teased, "Have you fallen in love with me?"

Hinata replied, "To heal someone, to save someone, it doesn't take love. It just takes a simple bond."


	5. Chapter 5

PART 5

Somehow, Sasuke felt relieved that Hinata knew his secret. He felt that he had nothing to hide. The thing was, he just couldn't stop himself from telling Hinata everything: his past, his pain, everything. He felt closer to her, but he didn't want to admit it.

Tsunade still made him live with Hinata but she didn't have to go everywhere with him anymore. So as long as he had Hinata's permission, he could go wherever he pleased. Surprisingly, Hinata kept his identity a secret, and he knew that this could be classified as an act of treason to the village, but Hinata didn't seem to care.

Sasuke went out to lunch with Naruto. Sasuke had gotten used to his presence again but was still extremely cautious.

He sat down next to Naruto and said, "Sup?"

Naruto grinned, "Nothing much. What about you?"

"I'm good."

"How are things between you and Hinata?"

"We're good friends."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and said, "You sure? Nothing more?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sasuke went out to lunch with Naruto. Sasuke had gotten used to his presence again but was still extremely cautious.

He sat down next to Naruto and said, "Sup?"

Naruto grinned, "Nothing much. What about you?"

"I'm good."

"How are things between you and Hinata?"

"We're good friends."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and said, "You sure? Nothing more?"

"What do you mean?"

"You **love **her don't you?"

Sasuke let his hair fall over his face to hide the faint red spreading across his face. Then all of a sudden hit Naruto in the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You and you're sick mind."

Their food came and as they ate, Sasuke thought, _Do I love Hinata? No, I can't. I refuse to. Love will keep me from killing Itachi._ _I can't afford to let feelings ruin everything. _

Sasuke looked at Naruto, and saw that Naruto had a sad look on his face. Sasuke asked, "What's wrong?"

Naruto replied, "Well, I don't think Sakura likes me anymore."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I just feel like the feeling between us is dissolving. Do you think it's because, well, I'm not good enough for her?"

Sasuke feigned sympathy, and comforted, "No, she's the one that's not good for you. You know that Hinata used to have a crush on you? Well, not anymore."

Naruto looked up, "Really?!"

"Yeah, but not anymore."

"Hmm, I never noticed. Oh well."

Sasuke smirked. _I'm not surprised._

When Sasuke got back home, he saw Hinata sleeping on the couch. He remembered that she just got back from a mission. She looked exhausted.

Sasuke noticed that sunlight from the window shined on her face. She looked so pure, so innocent. He kneeled beside the couch, and brushed her dark hair from her eyes. Her skin was soft and white. Sasuke leaned down and closed his eyes, his lips hovered over hers.

Sasuke snapped his eyes open and jumped away. _What am I doing? This is so stupid! _

Hinata slowly opened her eyes. She saw Sasuke sitting on the other end of the couch. She sat up and rubbed her eyes and asked, "What time is it?"

Sasuke grunted, "Same time as yesterday."

Hinata grabbed a pillow and threw it at his face, surprising him. Hinata giggled and said, "I'll go make lunch."

"No need to. I ate with Naruto."

"I see. Then I won't make lunch." She pulled a book from under the couch and began to read.

The silence between them annoyed Sasuke. Breaking it, he asked, "What are you reading?"

"Fading Fate."

"What's it about?"

"It's about a boy who comes back to his village to kill his best friend. But then he falls in love with a girl who's really nice to him. She helps him realize the goodness in him.

"But one day he has to leave the village permanently. She begs him to stay, admits her love for him, but he just turns her down, even though he loves her. The boy then travels the world searching for strength, but he could never find true strength.

"When he returns to his village to see the girl he loved, he finds out that she is dead. Because she loved him, her family, not wanting her to be a disgrace, killed her. That's how far I've gotten. It's a really romantic book."

Sasuke was a bit horrified. He thought the girl was really stupid for loving the boy endlessly. "Well, when you finish it, tell me how it ends."

Hinata nodded and put the book away. She stood up and walked over to the window and gazed outside.

Sasuke asked, "Tell me, how did Neji die?"

Hinata froze at Neji's name. When she spoke, it was with a hoarse broken voice. "He died because of the curse seal of the branch Hyuugas. When I was disowned, Hiashi didn't want me to roam the village and the world disgracing the clan. So, he tried to kill me, but Neji-nii jumped between us and yelled for me to run. Without thinking, I did. But then I heard Neji-nii fall to the ground behind me, and I turned to see his headband off, the seal was glowing."

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke, but she continued, "I ran to Neji-nii's side. I tried to break the seal, but it was too late. In a fury, I fought Hiashi, but I wasn't strong enough. Luckily, Kiba-kun and Shino-kun came and helped me escape.

"A week later, Neji-nii had his funeral. His team, everybody he knew including me was there. The clan was there, too, but they weren't even crying. I feel responsible for his death, and never have I cried so much."

Sasuke saw that her frame was trembling, so he stood and walked up to her. He turned her around and wrapped his arms around her and soothed her, saying, "I understand. When I lost my clan, I cried too. I know what it's like to lose someone precious to you."

Hinata's tears soaked his shirt. He tightened his embrace, and Hinata felt the warmth of his body spread through her numbness. Sasuke wiped her tears away and whispered, "Smile for me." He placed his forehead against hers and she closed her eyes and smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

PART 6

"Kabuto, what did you want to talk about?" Sasuke said coldly. The wind blew harshly as Sasuke and Kabuto stood in the training grounds.

Kabuto chuckled, "What is your relationship with the disowned heiress? Do you feel pity for her? What about love?"

"We're just friends," snapped Sasuke.

"Then why do you act so kind to her? You're not as soft to anyone else."

"I need to make sure people don't see my attitude as Sasuke, so I need to be more sincere."

"But she knows who you are doesn't she?"

Sasuke froze. He had meant to keep that a secret in fear that the Sound ninja might kill her. He heard Kabuto chuckle again.

"Well, that doesn't matter for the moment. I'm here to tell you that Orochimaru-sama has a change of plans. He doesn't want you to kill Naruto-kun and the others. They are essential to the downfall of Akatsuki. You'll leave the village in about 3 weeks. Goodbye, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke sighed and sat down to ponder his actions. While he was thinking, Kiba saw him and strolled up to him.

"Yo, Jin."

"Hey, Kiba."

"Why are you looking so gloomy?"

"Do I?"

"Yeah, so tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about Hinata. I feel sad that she had to watch her cousin die like that."

Kiba was silent for a while but then said, "You know, at Neji's funeral, the clan didn't stay long. They didn't let anyone carve Neji's name and epitaph onto the gravestone. But Hinata was the last one to leave, and she brought a kunai, and carved Neji's name and the words 'dear cousin, dear brother, Hyuuga genius who fought fate' until her hands were bleeding. It was raining, too. That's why she's always going into space when it rained."

Sasuke was horrified. Kiba continued, "She loved Neji. Not as you know, but more like a brother. But since his death, she's stronger, but her heart's weaker. She's still too nice. I don't think she's cut out to be a shinobi."

Sasuke was quiet. He thought about it, and agreed that she was extremely gentle. Soon, Kiba left in a hurry.

A cool wind swept by and Sasuke decided to head home. When he got home, all the lights were out and there wasn't a single string of light.

When he flicked on the lights, there was a loud, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"

He jumped at the voices and spun around to see all of his friends.

Kiba said, "This is why I was in a rush to go."

Naruto yelled, "We found out your birthday through looking at the documents you had when you came to Konoha, and Hinata planned a birthday party for you!"

"H-hinata did this?"

"Yes, I did." Hinata said coming out of the kitchen.

"Come on, let's eat! The girls cooked a lot of food, and I'm starving!" Chouji said.

The food was good, in Sasuke's opinion. But he didn't have much of an appetite and spent most of the time drinking sake. He was thinking about the news Kabuto had brought him.

Suddenly, Sakura jumped up and said, "Let's play truth or dare!"

Sasuke groaned in annoyance, but everyone agreed. Hinata gathered all of the dishes and escaped into the kitchen. Unfortunately, Ino ran into the kitchen and dragged her out.

"Ok, birthday boy goes first," Naruto declared. "So, truth or dare?"

"Dare." He was a little tipsy from the sake, and he also was afraid that they might ask Sasuke-related-questions.

"Ok, Jin, I dare you to kiss Hinata."

Sasuke's eyes almost fell out of his head. "What?!"

"You heard me, kiss Hinata."

Sasuke turned to Hinata who was pretty red-faced. Nervously, Sasuke moved in closer to her, and pressed his lips against hers.

Sasuke couldn't hear or see the reactions of everybody, but he didn't want to. He focused on Hinata's lips. They were tangible and soft. A warm feeling spread through his body, and carried out all the worries he had. He drew her into a deeper kiss, letting his tongue explore.

A soft moan escaped her throat and they held each other tightly. When they broke apart, both of them were blushing furiously, and everybody was regarding how cute they looked together.

Hinata touched her lips gently with her fingertips. _What was that feeling? W-why do I feel this way? It's just a kiss, just a dare right? Then why did it feel like something more?_ she thought.

Soon, the party was over. Sasuke sighed in relief, and unfortunately, Hinata heard.

"I'm sorry. I knew you preferred a more quiet means, but I still invited them, and I know it's not really your birthday, but I still wanted to celebrate it and I-"

Sasuke put a hand over her mouth and grumbled, "Stop rambling. One, I don't mind, two, I appreciate your efforts."

Hinata blushed at how close he was, and Sasuke sighed again. He was at his bedroom doorway when he heard her ask, "Ano, Sasuke-san, why did you join Orochimaru?"

Sasuke didn't look at her, but replied, "To get stronger."

"But why Orochimaru? You could have asked to be trained by someone who is, well, good and-"

"And who could that be?" he snapped. She couldn't answer so he continued harshly, "Who else can help me get stronger so that I will never lose. So that I can have my revenge? So that I can kill Itachi?!"

Instead of looking away, she daringly stared into his eyes. "But it's not the right way! Have you no honor, no pride?"

"Look, who's talking. Who got disowned?"

Finally, she looked away in pain. Sasuke smirked cruelly, and said, "This is why you're weak. In this world, you can't be weak. It's a survival of the fittest. That's why so many people have died, the first fourth Hokage including, especially the Third Ho-"

"Shut up! His end was fitting. He died protecting the village. He wasn't weak!" she cried out fiercely.

"Then why did he die? And why do you care so much about the old geezer?"

"Because, he took care of me a lot of times. I am indebted to him."

"He's dead." Sasuke said coldly. "He was weak. That's why he couldn't defeat Orochimaru. He deserved to die. The weak should die."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Hinata cried placing her hands over her ears and falling to her knees.

"Listen to me!" he yelled grabbing her shoulders. "If you want to leave, be stronger! The weak and kind-hearted will die!"

She looked at his eyes. White eyes met red eyes. Gentle eyes met angry ones.

A cold shadow invaded the pureness of her eyes as she said, "Then watch me die."


	7. Chapter 7

PART 7

Sasuke cursed himself. Hinata might get angry and blow off his cover. He slammed his fist against the wall, and thought, _What do I care? I'll just go find her and kill her!_

But a strange feeling came over him, and he couldn't name it. Was it anxiety? No. Was it fear? No. What was it?

_It's raining again. Why has it been raining so much?_ Hinata thought. She shivered in the rain as she trudged along the sidewalk.

She looked up at the clouds, her eyes stung by the drops of water. Tears formed in her eyes, and slowly, they fell. She thought about Sasuke's cruel words. They were cruel, but held some truth.

Still she cried, her tears got mixed with the rain that fell. She heard a rustle behind her, and she spun around.

5 Sound shinobi stood behind her. Hinata brought out a kunai and held it out.

Of the five ninja, one spoke. He wore glasses and had grey hair. _Kabuto!_ Hinata realized.

"Hinata-chan, isn't it? We know that you know Jin's true identity. Unfortunately, we're going to have to kill you." he said and smiled evilly.

As if on cue, the other 4 ninja rushed at her. She threw the kunai at one of them but he deflected it. Hinata dropped to the floor and swept her leg under one of the shinobi causing them to fall. As he fell, she cried, "Jyuuken!" and hit his chest. The man crumbled, and the other 3 ran at her. One man through a kunai at her shoulder and it made contact. She cursed when she saw that it was poisoned.

Hinata jumped back, and formed seals. Out of the rain, a string of water wrapped around her arm, and seemed to sharpen. She rushed at two of the shinobi and delivered a spear cut at them, and one of them fell. The other one charged at her recklessly. She held out her arm, and the stream of water spiraling around it, straightened out to form a sharp point where she plunged it into the man's chest.

There was one man left, who she had forgotten. The man formed seals, and an aching sound filled her ears. Slowly, she realized that she was trapped in a genjutsu. Steadily, she stood up, and with her Byakugan, found the shinobi who was casting the jutsu. She broke through the jutsu, and ran the man through, with a kunai.

She turned to Kabuto, who looked quite impressed. Hinata was panting with exhaustion. Kabuto, taking advantage of it, formed seals, and tapped her thigh. Gasping, she fell to the ground.

Kabuto smirked. "Hinata-chan, I think I'll let you live. You could be of good use to Orochimaru-sama, and you're quite strong. I hope to see you soon."

Hinata struggled to move, but the poison had taken over. Her eyes slowly blurred and the light faded to nothing. All she could feel was the beat of the rain against her back.

Sasuke looked out the window. He wondered where Hinata could be. He wondered if he should apologize to her, because she had taken the trouble of taking care of him and everything.

Soon, the rain was gone, and the sun shone brightly as if the grey clouds had never been there.

Sasuke left the apartment, and went to Ichiraku, where he was going to meet Naruto, Chouji, and Shikamaru. But when he arrived there, nobody was there. He looked at his watch and saw that it had been 15 minutes since the time they were going to meet.

He sighed in annoyance, and was about to leave when he heard Naruto yell, "Jin!! Jin!! Wait up!!"

"What is it Naruto? Why are you late?"

"H-Hinata, s-she's s-she's s-she's-" Naruto started.

"Spit it out." Sasuke barked.

"She's in the hospital! Everybody's there, come on!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's armed and dragged him to the hospital.

When Sasuke saw Hinata, he froze. She was awake, but her skin was colorlessly white. Her eyes were almost empty, and blood soaked the bandages that wrapped around her.

"Hinata, what happened?" Tsunade asked.

"S-sound n-nin." Her voice was hardly a whisper and it was hoarse.

Everybody was shocked, and Tsunade's face grew grave.

"What did they want?" she demanded.

"I-I don't know. Gomen." Hinata replied. She didn't look at Sasuke at all.

"No, no, it's all right. But you're going to need a lot of medical help. Sakura got most of the poison out, but you won't be able to move for a day. I need to heal your shoulder and thigh."

Hinata nodded weakly, and everybody left except for Sasuke, who still stood there staring at her.

"Hinata…I…." Sasuke started. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't, you never wo-"

Hinata shook her head, and said, "No, you're right. I am weak, but honestly, you've helped me get stronger. Thank you."

Sasuke nodded, and went back to the apartment, and was not surprised to see Kabuto in the living room.

"What is it?" Sasuke growled.

"Ah. Sorry about your girlfriend in the hospital. We know that she knows who you really are. But rest a sure, I did not kill her. She could be useful to Orochimaru-sama."

"It was _you?_"

"Yes, and I must say, Hinata is pretty strong. Not as strong as you of course, but still impressive. She defeated Hakudoshi, Masatoshi, Gonzo, and Akira."

Sasuke was surprised. The four of them were second to the Sound 5, and she defeated them?

"Well, I'll be leaving, just thought you'd like to know. Oh! Sasuke-kun?"

"What?"

"She lied didn't she? To the Hokage. She could be labeled for treason, doing all of this for you."

Kabuto disappeared, leaving his words to echo in Sasuke's mind.

After 3 days, Hinata got out of the hospital. She could move freely, but Sasuke sometimes caught her wincing due to the pain in her shoulder and thigh.

Sasuke secretly felt grateful to Hinata for keeping his identity a secret, but he sometimes wondered why she does it. He was sure that she realized that what she was doing was treason, and to top it off, she was good friends with Naruto.

Sasuke had thought about telling her that he was going to leave in about 2 and half weeks, but he wondered what her reaction would be.

But what confused him most was that he always apologized to Hinata when he did something wrong, and he always thanked her. Before, he had never done this, since vengeance had eaten away most of his kinder or more sincere self.

"Hinata, what element are you?"

She looked a little surprised at his sudden question, but she answered, "Water. What about you?"

"Fire and lightning."

There was silence between them until Sasuke broke it, "Have you finished that book yet?"

"Eh? Oh, yes. It had an interesting end. Sad, but interesting."

"What happened?"

"Well, the boy had a hallucination of the girl, and he practically went mad. He was in the hospital, dying, when he dreamed of his love. She looked like an angel, and when she hugged him, all his pain melted away. When he died, he met her in heaven, and they loved each other after death."

"I'm going to have a drink with Naruto. See ya." Sasuke said as if he hadn't even listened to anything she had just said.

Sasuke met Naruto at a sake bar, and saw Naruto slumped over in his seat. Sasuke whacked Naruto on the head, and Naruto woke up and said groggily, "Wasss upp, Jiinn?"

"How much did you drink?" Sasuke asked in annoyance.

"I dunno. But it feels great. Hey, oji-san! Can I have another bottle of sake for my friend?"

Sasuke took a seat next to Naruto, and poured some sake into a tiny cup. He felt the burning taste slide down his throat with ease. Sasuke looked over at Naruto who had a somewhat sad face.

"Naruto, what's with you?" Sasuke asked.

"Sakura b-broke up with me. S-she said that she still has feelings for Sasuke-teme. B-b-but it's been like 2 and a half years! She says that you remind her of Sasuke. You and Sai. She can't stand it." Naruto said sadly.

But then Naruto continued, "B-b-but I'm glad that you have Hinata. She needs someone by her side."

Sasuke chugged down the entire bottle, and asked for another.

Sasuke asked, a little tipsy from a whole bottle, "Sometimes I feel different around her. I always want to be around her, and open up to her. She doesn't pity me, but she keeps smiling for me. What would you call that feeling?"

"I gguuess itt wwoould bbee lllooove," Naruto slurred.

"Naruto, go home. You look like you drank a lot."

"B-b-but I-I-I aasskked yyou-"

"It's ok. We can do this another time."

Although Naruto left, Sasuke stayed and continued to drink. Sasuke was glad to be finally alone to drown in sadness. _Today is the day he killed everybody. Gaa-san, Otou-san, everybody's dead. I'm going to take revenge no matter what!_

Sasuke didn't bother to count the number of bottles he had consumed. He left the bar, stumbling a bit. Before he knew it, his mind was a blur, and he couldn't concentrate. His thoughts floated to Hinata. Could Naruto be right? His eyes slowly closed, when he heard a small voice, "S-Sasuke-san?!"

Hinata walked up to him with a worried look. "H-how much did you drink?!"

"I tthhiinnk maybbee ffiive bottles." Sasuke fell forward, and Hinata rushed up and supported him.

Hinata said, "Hang in there. I'll get you home."

She struggled to put Sasuke on her back, and when she did, she slowly carried him home.

Hinata gasped at his weight. Luckily, the apartment wasn't too far.

Hinata asked Sasuke curiously, "Why did you drink so much? You know it's bad for you!"

"Today's the day my clan died." Hinata's eyes widened in shock and she whispered, "I'm sorry."

After a while of silence and walking, Sasuke whispered in her ear, "Hinata, you're pretty."

Hinata felt heat rush to her cheeks, and thought, _He must really be drunk._

"T-thankyou?"

When they finally got home, Hinata plopped Sasuke on his bed, and sighed with relief. She was about to leave when she heard Sasuke say, "Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"Could you…stay?" She could hear the pain in his voice, and the need for her, so she agreed.

She sat beside his bed, and watched him curiously. Slowly, she too, fell asleep. Suddenly, Hinata felt movement beside her, and woke up alerted. She looked at Sasuke who was tossing and turning in his bed, and sweating.

Hinata jumped up and shook Sasuke awake. Sasuke snapped his eyes opened in surprise, and sat up quickly. Hinata noticed that he was panting heavily.

"Sasuke-san, are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

Sasuke buried his face in his hands, and said, "I…I can't stop dreaming about that day. I just can't stop. Blood. It's everywhere."

Hinata wrapped her arms around Sasuke who had a surprised look on his face which then softened. Sasuke rested his head against Hinata's shoulder, and closed his eyes.

"It's ok Sasuke-san. I'm right here. I won't let you feel pain alone." she reassured him. "Go ahead and cry. Let all the pain leave you."

And Sasuke did. For the first time in a long time, he cried. He cried against her shoulders, and she didn't pull away. She held him tighter. She forced the pain out of him with her soft and gentle words.

Finally when Sasuke could spill no more tears, he slowly drifted to sleep. Before he fell asleep, he whispered to Hinata, "Thank you, Hinata. Thank you for everything: for taking my pain away, for freeing me. I love you."


	8. Chapter 8

PART 8

Hinata was cooking breakfast. She thought about last night, and her heart fluttered at remembering Sasuke's words:

"You're pretty."

"I love you."

When Sasuke said those words, Hinata was happy. She was always happy around him even when he was distant and cold. She was happy to be there for him, to be needed. She was happy to love him. He had mended her broken heart, and set her free.

Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her waist, and something pressed against her back. Hinata smiled when she realized that it was Sasuke with his cheek against her back.

"Thank you, Hinata. I love you."

Hinata turned to face him, and smiled. "I love you too, Sasuke."

Sasuke's solemn face softened and actually looked happy. "Really?" He couldn't believe it.

Hinata nodded happily, and Sasuke picked her up by the waist, and brought her up into the air. Hinata laughed and Sasuke's smile broadened.

Sasuke pulled Hinata to him close, and eased his lips over hers. His tongue begged to be let in, and she obliged.

Hinata savored the taste of his lips, and deepened their kiss. When they broke apart, Sasuke held her tightly and whispered, "Thank you."

Hinata smiled purely, "No, thank you. I love you."

Sasuke had never been happier. It felt good to finally love someone and have then love you back.

Hinata felt the same. Although she didn't expect to fall in love, love found her. She felt as if there was a purpose for her again. She was no longer alone. She would be strong for him.

People were surprised if not happy. Though, people agreed that they had a lot in common. Soon, Hinata and Sasuke were always together.

The next night, Sasuke and Hinata laid on the grass of the park and watched the stars.

Hinata gazed at the silver dots that covered that velvet sky and said, "Ne, Sasuke, can you promise to always be by my side?"

Sasuke turned his head to look at her and replied, "Of course. As long as you promise to always be by mine."

Hinata nodded and said, "But are you leaving the village again?"

Sasuke almost smacked himself in the head. How could he forget?!

Reluctantly, he said, "I'm sorry. I am. In 2 weeks I'll be leaving and I totally forgot."

Hinata's expression looked sad for a moment, and Sasuke hastily asked, "But can you leave with me? We'll become strong together."

Hinata pondered this. She wanted to go, but she would become missing nin. And what about her friends?

"I don't know. There's no way you could stay?"

Sasuke shook his head. He could feel like the anxiety in his heart. More than anything, he didn't want to leave Hinata, now that he had found love.

Hinata said uncertainly, "I-I'll think about it and let you know before you leave."

Sasuke leaned over to her and kissed her, leaving uncertainty behind them.

"Suiton: Ice blade!"

"Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

Hinata panted with exhaustion, while Sasuke smirked with amusement. Suddenly, Sasuke appeared behind her and brought out his katana, but Hinata brought out hers surprising Sasuke.

"Hinata, you use katana?"

"Yes, why? Surprised?" Hinata teased playfully. "I don't use it that much though. Hiashi thought that it was unladylike and not fit for an heir. That's why I spent most of my time training on taijutsu."

Sasuke smirked again, and beckoned her to come at him. He was surprised to find that she was quite fluid with the sword. Her defense was strong, but her offense was a bit hesitant.

While they had their break, Sasuke asked, "Did you create your own sword style? I've never seen it."

Hinata blushed and replied, "Yes, although I feel I need to improve the offense."

Sasuke agreed and after going home to shower, they left to have lunch together at a sushi bar.

When they were eating, however, they heard a loud voice that yelled, "Hinata-san! Jin-kun! How are you on this young day?"

"I bet that's Rock Lee." Sasuke whispered in annoynce to Hinata. She chuckled quietly, and they turned, indeed, to see Lee, but with Tenten.

"Oh, hello, Lee-san, Tenten-san," Hinata said casually. ''Are you two here together?"

"Yeah," Tenten said blushing. "Oh! This Saturday is Tsunade's birthday and everybody's celebrating it with a huge party! You guys are coming right?"

Sasuke and Hinata looked at each other in surprise. "That's four days from now right?"

"Yes! Oh, do come! We will have a wonderful time!" Lee shouted.

"I…I guess it's alright, that is if it's okay with you Jin-kun," Hinata said hesitantly.

After a lot of persuasion by Lee, Sasuke gave in. After they had their lunch, Hinata and Sasuke headed back home.

"I really don't want to go. I hate that old hag," Sasuke grunted.

Hinata giggled. "What's so funny?" Sasuke demanded.

"It's just the expression on your face." Hinata retorted.

Sasuke lowered his face so that it was just inches away from hers. "What about this expression then?"

Hinata blushed scarlet as Sasuke kissed her gently. When they broke apart, Hinata stuttered, "W-well, i-if you didn't want t-to go, w-we can s-stay t-there for j-just while."

Sasuke hid the pleased feeling he had and muttered, "Whatever."

When they got back to the apartment, Hinata left to go take a shower. Sasuke, bored to death, fell asleep on the couch.

Hinata got out of the shower and smiled when she saw Sasuke asleep. She neared him, and giggled at his face. Upon hearing her giggle, Sasuke woke up with a pout on his face (A/N: imagine that!), causing her to throw fits of laughter.

"Why'd you wake me up?" Sasuke grumbled.

"Well I-" But Hinata was cut off when she heard a light thump against the window.

Hinata sprinted to the window to look outside. Then she called to Sasuke, "Sasuke! It's snowing! Come on! Let's go outside."

She dragged Sasuke out and she was right. White snow danced from the heavens above them, and about 1 inch of snow covered the ground.

Hinata laughed as she danced in the snow. Sasuke watched her peacefully, and saw that the snow seemed fit for her. Quiet, gentle, graceful, and lovely.

A snowball caught him off guard and he turned to see Naruto.

"YO! Jin! I can't believe it snowing already!"

Sasuke smirked but it turned into a true smile when he looked at Hinata.

"Yeah…I can't believe it either."


	9. Chapter 9

PART 9

"Hey, Hinata, what are you going to wear to the party?" Ino asked excitedly.

"I don't really have an idea…" Hinata said quietly.

"WHAT?!" Tenten and Ino screamed. "WE'RE TAKING YOU SHOPPING NOW!"

Tenten turned her head at Sasuke and called, "Yo, Jin! We're kidnapping your girlfriend. Lee! Shikamaru! Go with Jin to look for a suit for the party!"

As Tenten and Ino dragged a protesting Hinata away, Lee and Shikamaru pulled Sasuke away.

The girls walked into a shop and Ino said, "We're going to make you look amazing for the party!"

Tenten asked, "Hinata what color did you want to wear?"

Hinata thought carefully, and replied, "A dark color like black or dark blue."

Ino squealed, "Ok! Come on!"

Ino pulled out a black dress that was draped with laces and frills. Hinata stuck out her tongue and shook her head in disgust. Ino looked at it in recollection, and said, "It's a bit too much, huh?"

Tenten called Hinata to come by her, and she placed a necklace around her neck. Hinata gasped at the weight pulling her head down, and Tenten immediately removed it.

Ino and Tenten began fussing over Hinata, and Hinata smiled to herself. It was going to take a long time.

The day finally arrived, and Sasuke waited impatiently by the door. "Hinata, are you done yet?"

"Yes! I'm coming!" Hinata walked out of her room, and Sasuke's draw dropped.

Hinata was dressed in a midnight blue dress that fell to her knees. In the back of the dress, at the waist, a large bow was tied. A necklace with a blue dewdrop hung from her neck and long-string earring from her ears.

Hinata smiled at the stunned look on Sasuke's face and feigned horror. "Do I look that bad?"

Sasuke smirked and walked over to her. He tilted her chin up and said, "No, you look gorgeous." He kissed her gently and said, "Let's go, we're going to be late."

When they arrived, almost everybody was already there. Hinata and Sasuke looked for Tsunade to give their congratulations. As they looked, many eyes were on the couple.

Suddenly, Naruto jumped on a table, a little drunk and yelled, "Happy Birthday to the Fifth Hokage! She might not look it, but she's really an old hag!"

A chair sent Naruto off the table, and Tsunade yelled, "Say that again!"

Kakashi popped up behind Sasuke and Hinata and said, "Yo! How's the party! It's only been like half an hour, and everybody's drunk! Oh! There's Jiraiya! I'm going to talk to him about the new book!"

Suddenly loud music started. Naruto and Lee jumped up on the stage, and tried to pull a bored Shikamaru to start dancing to the music. Naruto grabbed the mike and started rapping.

Hinata put a hand over her mouth, and said to Sasuke, "I've never seen Naruto-kun that drunk!"

Sasuke grinned, but Kiba appeared behind him. Kiba said to Sasuke, "Hey, I'll have a drinking contest with you."

The raven-haired boy smirked, and said, "You're on." He followed Kiba, ignoring the worried look on Hinata's face.

"Wow, Hinata! Is that really you?" Hinata turned to see Temari with her brothers.

"Temari-san! How are you? It's good to see you again."

"I'm good. We were invited to the party, but I'm so surprised to see you! Everyone says you have a boyfriend. You gotta let me meet him!"

Hinata laughed quietly, and replied, "Well, he's over there drinking with Kiba-kun."

Gaara looked at Sasuke curiously, Hinata began to feel a little uneasy. "Well, enjoy the party." Hinata bowed before the Kazekage and left to Sasuke's side.

Kiba was slumped in a chair, and Sasuke smirked in victory. "I win."

Hinata put an arm on Sasuke and said surprised, "You're not drunk yet?"

"No, I have soda here."

"Cheater!"

"You know I hate having hangovers."

Ino appeared and said to Hinata, "I'm going to steal your boyfriend for a dance, is that ok?"

Hinata nodded, laughing inside at the look on Sasuke's face. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see Sakura with bit of a sad face.

"Sakura-chan! Are you okay?"

"Yeah….I broke up with Naruto…and now, I have no date."

"Oh. I heard from Ino-chan."

"Here, have some champagne." Sakura handed a glass of champagne to Hinata who took it thankfully. Sakura left, and Hinata was about to take a sip, when she smelled something funny in the champagne.

Hinata activated her Byakugan, and looked in the champagne. Tiny white particles floated in the liquid. Poison! Hinata dumped the champagne in the soil of a near by plant, and ran to find Sasuke. Without knowing it, the plant where the poisoned drink was dumped, wilted.

She saw Sasuke dancing with Ino on the dance floor, but Iruka tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Hinata! I haven't seen you in a long time! My, you've grown a lot."

"Ah, thank you, Iruka-sensei."

"Well, I'll see you later." He walked away and Hinata was left confusion. Why did Sakura try to poison her? And Hinata could hardly say a word to Sasuke. It was like everybody was trying to separate them. Hinata gasped and thought, _Maybe they know!_

Hinata looked at where Sasuke and Ino were, but they weren't there anymore. She searched for Sasuke and saw him with Naruto. Hinata calmly strolled over to them, and Naruto, seeing her said, "Hinata! Care for a dance?"

Before she could say anything, Naruto pulled her over to the dance floor and they began to dance.

In the past, Hinata would've fainted because of the huge crush she had on Naruto. But she knew her heart now, and begged for the music to end, so she could speak to Sasuke.

But it seemed that time was against her, and the dance with Naruto was so long.

When it finally ended, Hinata thanked Naruto politely, and walked back to Sasuke, who smiled kindly at her. In a low whisper she told Sasuke of her suspisions. His eyes widened and he was about to say something, when Captain Yamato, began talking to Sasuke, and slowly, they were walking away from Hinata, and ended up on the other side of the room.

When Yamato was done talking to him, Sasuke looked at his watch, and saw that it had been an hour.

His eyes and Hinata's locked, and he nodded. Hinata casually made her way towards the exit, and so did Sasuke. After they were out, they sighed in relief.

But once they were about 3 yards away, a stern voice behind them said, "Where are you going…Uchiha Sasuke!!"


	10. Chapter 10

PART 10

Sasuke and Hinata froze. They looked over their shoulders and masked their surprise with an indifferent look.

Behind them stood Tsunade, who had yelled, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Captain Yamato. None of them looked drunk at all.

Sasuke thought, _How did they find out? Was it Hinata? Did she really betray me?!_

Naruto ran forward to them with a kunai in his hand, while Sasuke was distracted with his thoughts. Luckily, Hinata reacted quickly, and jabbed her fingers into Naruto's tenketsu and sent him flying back with a fast kick.

She threw 3 kunai with explosive notes to the ground, and released them. Smoke disguised them and they escaped.

Kakashi with serious look, said, "They used the smoke to disguise their scent too."

Tsunade was shaking her head in disbelief. "Hinata…she's a traitor now too. Have every shinobi search for them, including ANBU."

Sasuke and Hinata went back to the apartment, to change into more suitable attire, and to pack, for they were leaving the village.

Sasuke, a little guilty for doubting Hinata, said, "I'll meet you at the top of the Hokage mountain. It would be better to separate to throw them off."

Hinata nodded. Before Sasuke left the apartment, he stopped and said, "Hinata…thank you for coming with me."

She nodded again, and he left. After 2 minutes, she too left. As she raced to the Hokage mountain, she thought, _There's nothing left for me here. I have no family and my own friend tried to poison me. All I have left is Sasuke. I'm sorry Neji-nii, but this is all I can do now. I can't do anything for the village. _

Hinata quickly climbed the mountain, and met Sasuke there. The moment he saw her, he nodded and said, "Let's g-" He stopped, and Naruto jumped up from behind with fist ready. Sasuke blocked the punch and drew his katana.

Hinata was about to help Sasuke, when she sensed powerful chakra heading her way, and turned to see Sakura with a fist too. Hinata jumped away and activated her Byakugan.

She sent chakra to her fingertips and jabbed them into Sakura's wrists, and dropped to the ground and let her leg sweep under Sakura, causing her to fall.

_Sakura's strong, but she's not that fast._ "W-why are you helping Sasuke?" Sakura growled as she got up.

Hinata replied, "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. Please, I don't want to fight you."

Sakura glared and said, "You won't win. I won't let you take Sasuke away. If you didn't sense the poison, you'd be dead."

"How did you find out about Jin being Sasuke? Why would you poison me?"

"DNA matchings. Hinata…you're a traitor. Before you say 'So is Sasuke', remember that you are disowned. He is the last of the Uchiha clan. Konoha has no need for you."

Hinata froze in horror and pain of memories. Sakura knew it was cruel to say it, and she didn't want to say it, but then again, it was only a distraction.

Sakura threw a kunai with an explosive note at Hinata.

Hinata jumped away in time, but Sakura sent a punch at her stomach, causing Hinata to gasp in pain.

"I overloaded the chakra you used to block my tenketsu." Sakura approached Hinata, who got up as if she wasn't hurt at all.

Sakura's eyes widened as Hinata pulled out a katana. Hinata formed seals and said aloud, "Suiton: Ice Whip!"

A string of ice formed from the tip of her katana, and Hinata lunged at Sakura. The tip of the ice however wasn't long enough, so Sakura smirked. But suddenly the ice stretched out and pierced Sakura's side.

Hinata yelled, "Kai!" Sakura looked at her feet and saw an explosion note, and she jumped away but the explosion burned her arm a bit. When she looked at Hinata again, the ice was gone.

Hinata got into delivered a Jyuuken to Sakura's chest, and leaned down into a strange stance. "Shukohake! Rokujyuu yonshou!" Sharp lines of chakra cut through Sakura's flesh.

_She's fast!_ Small deep cuts formed at Sakura's arms and legs. Hinata said, "You can't move now. Sakura. You tried to kill me, but you are my friend. I can't kill you like this."

Hinata turned away, but Sakura, mustering all the strength she had left, lunged at Hinata with a fist.

Hinata spun around in surprise, and sent as much chakra as she could to her left palm. She pressed the same palm to Sakura's shoulder, and a thick line of chakra, as thick as a person's thigh, shot through Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura fainted in pain, and Hinata gritted her teeth in pain that shot through her arm. She hadn't perfected the jutsu yet, and it did great damage to her body.

Naruto's yell sounded behind them. The two girls were horrified to see Sasuke with his Mangekyou Sharingan and cursed seal state 2, and Naruto in his 3 tails form.

Naruto glared deep into Sasuke's eyes, and suddenly, he was caught in a genjutsu. Sasuke lunged at Naruto with his katana, but Naruto released the jutsu just in time.

Chidori spread through Sasuke's katana and red chakra rippled the ground beneath them from Naruto. Hinata ran at Naruto to seal his tenketsu, but was shoved back violently. She coughed up blood, and her vision began to blur.

But still she stood up, and formed seals. "Suiton: Ice Cage."

Suddenly Naruto was trapped in a prison of ice, but the Rasengan formed in his right hand, he broke free, but the Rasengan was headed towards Sasuke who had lost control over his Level 2 state. Sasuke began to form seals to summon snakes, but Naruto was to fast, and he didn't have enough time, so he began to run back slightly.

They were so caught up in the battle, they couldn't hear Sakura scream for them to stop, and they couldn't see the object that flashed between them.

Blood stained the pure white snow beneath them. Sasuke and Naruto's eyes were wide with shock. It wasn't Sasuke's blood. It wasn't Naruto's blood. It was Hinata's blood.

Well since you can see that I uploaded 2 chapters today, I was really bored. Although, I apologize for them being so short.


	11. Chapter 11

PART 11

Hinata fell into Sasuke's arms, her blood staining his clothes and hands. Naruto had gone back to normal, and the shock reflected in his eyes.

Sasuke hands shook as he placed one on her cheek, and whispered, "Hinata…No." With his other hand he held her hand tightly, refusing to let go.

Hinata didn't say anything, for her energy was leaving her. Her eyes closed, and a heart-broken Sasuke laid her down gently. He fought back the tears that threatened behind his eyes.

He watched her closely, and noted that she looked at peace strangely.

Sakura couldn't believe it. Quickly, she healed the cuts on her arms and legs, and ran to Hinata's side. She examined the great damage, and felt for pulse. But there was nothing.

The Uchiha prodigy stood tall, and turned to leave. Naruto yelled in anger, "Where are you going?! Hinata just died for you and you don't even look like you care!!"

Sasuke looked at Naruto with an emotionless mask, and said coolly, "I'm going back to Orochimaru. Hinata…she's in a better place now. She was too weak and would've gotten in my way."

With those heart-wrenching words, he disappeared. Soon, ANBU ninja appeared along with Kakashi and Yamato.

Tsunade stepped out and examined Hinata carefully. She yelled for medical ninja. "We can still save her! Hurry!"

Kiba and Shino arrived at the hospital panting with exhaustion. "Hinata! Where's is Hinata?" Kiba demanded.

They saw Sakura and demanded to know her condition. Sakura's face fell. "I don't know. She has a chance to live but it's only a 25 chance. She got hit with the Rasengan."

Suddenly, Tsunade walked out of the emergency room, and everybody rushed to her.

"She'll be fine, but she won't be able to move for about a month. She might not eat as much either, since her stomach was badly damaged."

Everyone sighed in relief, and Naruto clenched his fist. "Sasuke got away again…Hinata almost died, and I was the one who almost killed her."

Kakashi placed a firm hand on his shoulder and said, "But Hinata is still in trouble. She can practically be labeled for treason."

Tsunade nodded with a serious face and looked at the door of the room Hinata was in. "All we can do is wait for her to wake up."

Sasuke's heart ached with sadness. Hinata was dead. The only person he had ever loved so much, the person who had taken his pain and suffering away. She was dead.

He wanted to see her smile, to hear her laugh, to hold her tightly, to feel her soft lips against his.

But she was dead.

There was a knock on his door, and Orochimaru walked in with an evil smirk.

"Where is that girl who was always with you?"

"She's dead."

"Well, she was useful to you wasn't she? You know how to fight a Hyuuga, and you're alive. Well, even if she wasn't there, you'd be alive anyway. You were holding back, and that was your mistake."

The snake-man left and Sasuke slammed his fist against the wall.

_Hinata…I broke my promise. I couldn't be with you._

Hinata opened her eyes slowly, to see the ceiling of the hospital. She tried to get up, but found that she couldn't move at all.

"Hinata! You're awake!" She turned her head to see Sakura and Naruto. But Sasuke wasn't there.

"Why are you here?" she asked weakly.

"Well, both of us almost killed you, and you're our friend. I'll go get Tsunade." Sakura left.

Hinata was quiet for awhile, and then found the strength to ask, "Sasuke left, didn't he?"

Naruto froze, but then nodded.

"Did he say anything?"

Another nod, then, "But I don't think you want to hear it."

"Please, Naruto-kun. I can't be with him anymore. Please." Hinata begged.

"H-he said, 'I'm going back to Orochimaru. Hinata…she's in a better place now. She was too weak and would've gotten in my way.'"

Hinata froze in shock. Strangely, tears didn't come out, but a soft laugh came instead. It wasn't a happy one. Pain and sadness echoed from it.

"I see." Hinata said quietly.

Tsunade slid the door open and noticed the tense atmosphere in the room. She cleared her throat, and said coldly to Hinata, "Hinata, why did you help Sasuke? You could have helped us capture him."

Hinata said nothing for awhile, but then sat up with a lot of struggling.

Sakura cried out worriedly, "Hinata-chan, your body hasn't-"

Hinata looked at Sakura with no emotion. "It's ok. Tsunade-sama, there are many reasons why I didn't reveal him. But the greatest reason was simply because I fell in love with him."

Tsunade was surprised at the calm response, and asked fiercely, "If you love him, you'd have kept him in the village like Sakura and Naruto tried to do! How can you-"

"No. I wanted him to be happy. He wouldn't be satisfied till Itachi's dead." Hinata cut through coldly.

Sakura stared at Hinata and said aloud, "He's changed you. Since when were you so cold?"

Hinata looked daringly into Sakura's eyes with great intensity. "No, he didn't change me. He healed me. But he didn't need me."

Tsunade walked to the door, and called, "Naruto, Sakura. I want a word with you in my office."

After they left, Hinata looked out the window and whispered, "Sasuke…you didn't need me. I will be strong without your help, without you."

(In Tsunade's office)

"I'm going to have her confined." Tsunade announced.

"What?! Tsunade-sensei, she's obviously broken! There's nothing she can do now, so just leave her be." Sakura pleaded.

"Sakura, what about missions, should she keep her ninja position?"

Naruto butted in, "Well, let her keep her position. It would be dishonorable to be stripped of your honor. But you don't have to send her on missions, and you can train her in the medical arts."

Tsunade pondered the suggestion, and then decided, "Alright. On one condition: you two will have to keep an eye on her."


	12. Chapter 12

PART 12

It had been 3 months since Sasuke had left the village. Orochimaru was dead, killed by Sasuke. Sasuke had recruited his team and they were in search of Itachi.

Naruto, along with Yamato, Kakashi, Sakura, Kiba and Shino, were hunting for Sasuke.

Sasuke sat up in his bed, after his battle with Deidara, thinking about what he would do after he killed Itachi. Slowly, his thoughts drifted to Hinata.

He missed her, and he always thought of her. He wondered what it would be like to have her right beside him at the moment.

Suddenly, Karin burst in and cried out, "We have to go! They're getting closer."

Immediately, Sasuke jumped out of his bed and they left the small town quickly.

They ran through the forest, and Karin fussed over Sasuke's well-being. But Sasuke was perfectly fine. The power of the white snake was powerful.

When they jumped into clearing, Karin froze and turned to Sasuke. "We're surrounded. I sense chakra from every direction. We're trapped."

Sasuke cursed. He didn't have time to deal with Konoha. He had to find Itachi immediately.

Indeed, Konoha ninja appeared behind some of the trees. Naruto walked up to Sasuke and fiercely said, "Sasuke, we're going to bring you back!"

"Hmph. This is interesting, isn't it?"

"Hai, Tobi-kun."

The 2 new voices caught everybody off guard. On tree branch stood 2 people with long black coats designed with red clouds. One had an orange mask that was kind of twisted into a swirl, but there only one eye whole.

The other one had a half an ANBU mask that covered the lower part of the face. But familiar eyes peered down at the ninja. Bykugan.

Sasuke smirked. He knew how to fight a Hyuuga, and he wasn't surprised to find that Akatsuki had recruited a Hyuuga.

Suddenly, Naruto ran forward to face the half-masked person. "Hinata!"

Sasuke froze. Hinata? But wasn't she dead? She couldn't be alive, could she?

The one with the half-mask, removed the mask, and indeed, it was Hinata. Her long hair was tied back, and her face was that of a doll's with no emotion.

Suigetsu asked curiously, "How did you guys know that it was Hinata? It could have been any Hyuuga."

"No. There is only one person with the Byakugan now. Hinata killed everybody in her clan 2 months ago." Yamato said gravely.

Sasuke felt numb. Hinata had killed everybody?

"Hinata! Why did you leave the village? Why did you kill everybody?" Kiba yelled.

She stared with no emotion, and replied coolly, "To survive you must be strong. That is what someone taught me." She shifted her gaze to Sasuke.

"You're alive? And you're with Akatsuki?" Disbelief was in his voice.

"After killing her clan, she joined the Akatsuki," Tobi explained. "Zetsu used to be her partner for a while, but when Deidara died, she was assigned my partner."

"How can you join the person I want to kill, Hinata?" Sasuke asked pained.

"Leader-sama wants to create a world of no pain. That is what I want too. But I have to thank you, Sasuke. Because of the pain you gave me, I am strong today."

Sasuke activated his Mangekyou Sharingan in anger, and drew his katana. He lunged at Hinata, thoughts filling his mind. _She's different. She's not Hinata. I'll kill her for pretending to be Hinata!_

A loud clang filled the air. Hinata had drawn her katana too. It as a black blade, with red kanji on the bottom edge. Both katana shook as both people tried to push each other away.

"Hinata-chan. I'm going to play with everybody else." Tobi announced.

She nodded, and placed her free hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Her touch softened Sasuke for a second, but a blade of white chakra shot from her hand and through Sasuke's shoulder.

Blood spilled onto the branch they were standing on. Sasuke shoved Hinata's hand away, and put a hand over his shoulder to stop the bleeding.

Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo began to rush to Sasuke, but Hinata jumped in front of them and they were caught in a genjutsu. They fell to the ground unable to move.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. For her to immobilize his comrades so easily, and to have him bleeding so much so quickly, how strong was she?

"She's really the Hinata you know. But she has grown strong very quickly because of you." A familiar voice sounded behind him, and Itachi stood there.

"Itachi!"

"Tch. If you want to kill me so badly, meet me at the Uchiha hideout."

With those words, he disappeared. Sasuke turned his gaze to Hinata, who fought Suigetsu, who had broken free of the jutsu.

The way she fought…it was exactly like Hinata. It looked like she was dancing, wielding her sword, and delivering easy cuts in her enemy.

She flipped back, and whispered, "Raiton: Lightning Bird."

Hinata held her sword up in the air, and a large bird of lightning formed above her. It flew and rammed into Suigetsu who cried aloud. He dropped to the ground heavily injured, and unable to fight anymore.

Sasuke appeared behind her and cried out, "Chidori!" But she side stepped, and calmly spoke, "Shugohakke Rokujyuu yonshou."

She poked her fingers into his tenketsu, counting them aloud, and finishing with, "Sixty-four strikes!"

Sasuke released his cursed seal, and lunged at Hinata. He kicked her in the stomach sending her flying back.

Sasuke noticed that Juugo had woken up, so he yelled, "Juugo! Get Suigetsu and Karin out of here!"

Juugo nodded and disappeared with the two. Sasuke muttered, "Chidori Expansion." and lightning ran along the ground towards Hinata. She jumped into the air, but Sasuke appeared behind her and prepared to stab her.

But the metal of his blade couldn't reach Hinata. She whispered calmly, "Kaiten."

Sasuke was thrown back, and he was heading towards a tree. But he pushed his feet against the trunk, sending him flying back at Hinata. She brought her katana up to defend herself just in time.

Sasuke cried out, "Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Hinata evaded it just barely, but her arm was on fire. She used a jutsu to put out the fire, and Sasuke was surprised to see that her arm was perfectly fine. The sleeve was a bit scorched though.

"Hinata-chan. Leader is summoning us," Tobi notified her.

"Alright, let's go." She turned to leave, and anger flared in Sasuke.

"What's this? Running away?"

She looked over her shoulder and smiled for the first time. It was the same familiar soft smile that broke his heart.

"Sasuke…I'll see you again. Goodbye for now."


	13. Chapter 13

PART 13

"Itachi, make sure to capture the Kyuubi this time," the leader of Akatsuki said seriously.

Itachi nodded, and the leader turned his gaze to Hinata.

"Hinata, there are no more Jinchurikis for you to capture, but you must capture Uchiha Sasuke. He will be in the way. "

"Hai, Leader-sama." Hinata bowed, and everyone was dismissed.

Tobi and Hinata sat on a small cliff, looking out onto a small town.

"Ne, Hinata-chan! There's no point in keeping that mask, since everybody knows that you are only the Hyuuga left since you show your eyes."

Hinata was silent for a moment. "You're right." She removed the mask, and set it aflame.

Tobi watched her silently and thought, _She's so quiet and dark. I hardly see her smile, and I've never heard her laugh. This small girl killed the Hyuuga clan? Immpressive. Especially to be able to use 3 elements. But her body is ill, that much is true._

"Tell me, why aren't you with those Konoha nin hunting for the Uchiha boy? Don't you love him?"

"I do. But he doesn't need me, so I barely survived the Kyuubi's Rasengan. After that, I swore that I would get strong enough so that I wouldn't be hurt so easily." Pain danced in her once empty eyes as she spoke.

XXXXXXXXX

Sakura was on guard as everyone slept. She saw Naruto get out of a tent, and sit next her.

"What's up?"

"Nothing." Her thoughts floated to a memory. One that stained her mind.

(Flashback)

_Sakura ran into Tsunade's office, and cried, "Tsunade-sensei! Hinata's missing!" _

_Tsunade spun around, and then suddenly a ninja Sakura didn't know ran in and yelled, "Tsunade-sama! The Hyuuga compound is on fire! It will be destroyed completely within half an hour."_

"_Sakura, go gather as many shinobi as you can and get everybody out of that fire."_

_Sakura and Naruto ran in, as Kakashi, Yamato, and other jounin tried to put out the fire. They ran into the main room, and saw a girl with long midnight hair. _

_She held a katana in her hand, and it dripped with blood. Her clothes were also stained with blood. Around her were dead bodies including that of Hiashi's. _

"_H-Hinata…" Naruto said in shock._

_She turned and her eyes surprised them. So cold, so empty._

"_Hinata, did you do this? Why?!" Sakura cried out._

"_They would have killed me like they killed Neji. I wanted to prove my strength to the people I once called family. I'm sorry, Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun. Perhaps we can meet again."_

_A white chakra enveloped around her and she disappeared. _

_Sakura fell to her knees. She had failed to keep Hinata pure. Now Konoha had another traitor to worry about._

(End Flashback)

Tears spilled from Sakura's emerald eyes. "I feel like it's my fault I couldn't stop her."

Naruto wrapped an arm around her warmly and comforted her. "Don't worry. We'll get Hinata back and Sasuke."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Kami! I'm going to kill that girl the next time I see her!" Suigetsu yelled as Karin dressed his wounds.

"Let me at her too," Karin muttered.

Juugo said distantly, "But she's strong. To defeat us that quickly, and to do so much damage to Sasuke."

Sasuke snorted, but he too was thinking about Hinata. _How could she have gotten so strong? So quickly? Hinata…._

"Hurry up, Karin. Tomorrow, we're leaving for the old Uchiha hideout."

"Alright, alright. God, not all of us have super healing abilities."

Sasuke took a seat next to the window, and saw that it was raining gently. The rain brought memories and familiar words echoed in his mind.

"_The rain brings back memories. Sad memories."_

He remembered. Hinata had said that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ne, Itachi. That Hinata girl is a lot like you, huh? It's amazing."

Itachi glared at Kisame coldly. "No, she's foolish. She has damaged her body greatly by achieving power so quickly."

"Tch. You still don't trust her, huh?"

Itachi answered coolly, "I don't trust her. In this world, people must be careful of who they trust."

"Well, that's true. Hinata trusted Sasuke, and look at her now. She never smiles, she never laughs. She's like walking zombie!" Kisame threw his head back and cackled like a maniac.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was raining. Water trickled down Hinata's face and dripped from her hair.

"Hinata-chan! You're gonna get a cold if you stand out there like that."

She snapped back into reality and walked under the shelter of the abandoned shed. "Thank you, Tobi-kun."

Suddenly she dropped to the ground and began coughing. Blood spilled from her mouth.

"Hinata-chan! Are you okay? You shouldn't push yourself too much. Jeez, sometimes, I wonder why you go so far for strength."

Hinata relaxed and wiped the blood from her mouth. "Tobi-kun. It's necessary. The reason I need power is to prove myself."

"To who?"

"To me."

"Well, if you keep this up, I'm going to have another dead partner." Tobi whined.

"Tobi-kun."

"Hm?"

Hinata turned away with a quiet, "Nevermind." She stared out the window, out into the rain, and only one person was in her mind.

_Sasuke…._


	14. Chapter 14

PART 14

Sasuke walked into the Uchiha hideout, and saw Itachi sitting in a throne-like chair.

Itachi had an expressionless face as Sasuke approached him. "Let's see how strong you've gotten. Hinata." He beckoned to the shadows, and Hinata walked out with her same lifeless expression.

"I will be your opponent," she said in a quiet voice.

Sasuke faced Itachi in fury. "What is this?!"

"If you can defeat her, I'll acknowledge that you've grown stronger. If you can kill her, you have high chances of defeating me."

Sasuke glared at Itachi and unsheathed his katana. He ran at Itachi, but Hinata had jumped in front of him, blocking his blade with her own. Sasuke shoved her back. She staggered a little, surprising Sasuke a bit, but she came up with a water jutsu "Suiton: Water Dragon." Then "Raiton: Lightning Bird."

The combination stunned Sasuke, but he summoned a large snake that devoured the jutsu.

Sasuke released his seal, and wings sprouted from his back. Sasuke's eyes shaded into the Mangekyou Sharingan.

With sudden speed, Sasuke appeared behind Hinata with his katana ready. Hinata barely evaded it, for he had cut her hair that was tied back. Her hair fell loose in short strands. But still, Hinata had no change in expression.

Hinata formed seals quickly, placed her hand on the ground, and called, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

Suddenly, a large bird sprang from the earth. It had black and golden feathers, and a red beak. Its black eyes pierced Sasuke, as he summoned another large snake.

Suddenly the bird and the snake were wrestling, trying to strangle each other.

Suddenly, Hinata had the bird return, and while this surprised Sasuke, Hinata quickly and easily dispatched the snake.

Sasuke ran at Hinata with great speed, that caught her off guard. His katana stabbed through her side, and she winced in pain. Sasuke cried, "Chidori Expansion!"

Hinata fell to the ground. Sasuke looked at her with a strange feeling inside of him. It pained him to see her like this. Dead by his hand.

Suddenly, her body seemed to melt into the ground. Sasuke's eyes widened. Genjutsu?

"Sasuke…gomen." She was behind him, with her palm ready to strike through his back. He caught her by the wrist, and forced her to look into his eyes.

Her eyes seemed to widen, and she was trapped in Tsukiyomi. He watched her in Tsukiyomi to watch her. He watched her look around at her surroundings, and as a copy of him walked up to her.

"I don't need you. You're in my way."

He watched her expression change into a pained one. More copies appeared repeating the same words. He watched her fall to her knees, her hands over her ears.

But a white chakra wrapped around her, and suddenly the jutsu was expelled. Sasuke blinked. She was on her knees glaring at him. She lunged at him with her katana.

Hatred burned in her white eyes. Sasuke was dumbfounded. _I'm the reason why she's so different? So changed?_

She attacked him with a rapid flurry of attacks, and he could barely keep up. Hinata jumped into the air. "Katon: Phoenix Flower!"

Sasuke dodged them and released his own fireballs. Water bullets, however, flew at them, extinguishing them.

He jumped out of the way, but suddenly a blade sprouted from his shoulder. Hinata had thrown her katana straight at Sasuke.

Groaning in pain, Sasuke wrenched the blade out of his shoulder, blood stained the ground as he did so. But Hinata was behind him, and cried, "Jyuuken!"

Sasuke moved so that her palm met the right side of his back instead of his left.

He jumped back, away from her. She was just about to run at him again, but she froze unable to move. She fell to the ground, and began coughing. Blood poured from her mouth, and she clutched her chest in pain.

Sasuke was confused. The damage he had inflicted on her wouldn't have been enough to do this to her. His mind flitted back to Juugo's words. Perhaps he was right. Her body was ill.

Sasuke stumbled up to Hinata, and stared into her eyes. Fear wasn't there. It was mainly sadness as her eyes watched him.

"Sasuke…quickly…finish me…then Itachi," she whispered weakly. Shock hit Sasuke. She wanted him to kill her?

"No, I won't. Just wait here. I'll finish him quickly, then-" he began firmly, but was cut off as she spoke again.

"There's no way for me to survive. You know that. It's ok. I knew this would happen." Her eyes softened as she looked at him. _It's so good to see him again. To be so close to him._

Suddenly, Itachi was beside them, ordering Sasuke, "Finish her."

Sasuke was silent for a while, but then turned around quickly and brought his katana around at Itachi.

Sasuke plunged the Chidori at Itachi, but it was just a kawarimi.

He turned around and saw Itachi beside Hinata with a kunai. "You wouldn't have lasted long in the Akatsuki."

He was about to plunge the kunai into her, when Sasuke rammed against Itachi, sending him flying.

"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" But Itachi wasn't there. He appeared behind him, and grabbed him by the neck, and threw him over his shoulder and at the ground.

"Perhaps I'll just finish you off first. Then the disowned Hyuuga." Black flames lighted in his hand, but they disappeared.

Sasuke saw a pale long finger connected to Itachi's wrist, and noticed that it was Hinata's.

She swept her leg under Itachi making him fall, and as he fell, she struck his tenketsu. He wrenched the sword out of her hand and it fell to the ground. Hinata placed her foot on the blade, and slid towards her, but Itachi kicked it away.

As they battled, Sasuke got up, and saw that a stream of blood flowed from the corner of Hinata's mouth.

The two began to fight on taijutsu, and Itachi had grabbed her hand and thrown her back. She flipped back and did a spin kick at his face.

Itachi staggered back, and suddenly black flames lighted in his other hand. He threw them at her, and she fell back, as the flames leaped at her. She summoned water to extinguish them, but she was too late. She couldn't move.

Itachi appeared before her and with her own black katana in his hand, he plunged it through her heart.


	15. Chapter 15

PART 15

_No…Hinata…NO!!_ _I won't lose you again…not again!! Wait…just wait…_

Sasuke groped for his katana blindly, and upon touching it, he grabbed it and ran it through Itachi.

Itachi spluttered blood, and looked back. His eyes lost the red glare of the Sharingan, and his eyes returned to cold black empty ones.

Sasuke ripped the blade out, and Itachi fell to the ground, and didn't move anymore.

Sasuke stared at the dead body and a feeling of relief washed over him. Itachi was finally dead, and Sasuke had completed his revenge. Suddenly he remembered.

He spun around and saw Hinata lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He ran to her side, and lifted her gently.

"S-sasuke…" she mouthed weakly.

"Hinata, please no. I won't lose you again! Hinata!!" He willed her eyes to stop closing. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his heart ached with great pain.

"S-sasuke…I don't fear death…I knew this would happen…gomen." she whispered in his ear.

Sasuke let the tears fall, and held her up close to him tightly. He wouldn't let go. He felt the life slowly slip out of her. He laid her back down, and formed seals, summoning a great white snake.

"Who disssturbesss me?"

"Heal her. Save her life." Sasuke ordered.

The snake eyed him carefully, but Sasuke didn't care. "Why ssshould I?"

"Please, just please. I love her, I lost her once, I won't watch her die again."

The snake sighed, "Very well," and slithered over to her to examine her. It looked back at Sasuke and commented, "There is great damage. The only way to save her is if I bite her, and if I do so, she will forever have healing abilities just like you. But as she once controlled three elements, she will lose 1: water. She also won't be able to use the summoning jutsu."

Sasuke didn't care, and said, "Just do it."

The snake sank its fangs into her neck, and poofed away. Sasuke lifted her up again, and her body seemed to glow faintly. Color returned to her skin, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"S-Sasuke?"

"Hinata!" He held her tightly and silently thanked the white snake.

"What happened? I thought I was dead." Huge confused eyes stared at him.

"I summoned the white snake to heal you. But I'm afraid you can't use the water element and summoning jutsu." He felt guilty for telling her this.

Her eyes softened, and she spoke, "It's ok. I'm glad to be with you right now."

Sasuke's heart melted and he leaned down to kiss her. The familiar taste he had longed for so long…he could taste it again.

When they broke apart, she smiled at him again, and wrapped her arms around his neck, and embraced him tightly.

They looked back at each other, and whispered to each other, "My pain is gone now. Thankyou."

EPILOGUE

"Hinata, I'm home." Sasuke appeared behind Hinata as she was washing the dishes.

"How was the mission?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"It was boring, but it's good to be home." He leaned down, and kissed her gently.

"Aww, how sweet," a voice suddenly came.

Sasuke and Hinata jumped and turned to see Sakura and Naruto. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked annoyed.

"Well, the door was open, so we thought we'd drop by. We have good news!"

Hinata dried her hands with a towel, and turned to Sakura and Naruto. "What's the good news?"

"We're getting married!!"

"Finally, after seeing how many times you guys broke up and got together." Sasuke grumbled. Hinata elbowed Sasuke, and congratulated them.

"So, Sasuke, did you get Hinata pregnant yet? I mean you guys have been married for 2 months!" Sakura punched Naruto in the stomach for his loud mouth.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Hinata chuckled. "No, we're going to wait."

After Naruto and Sakura left, Sasuke turned to Hinata, cupped her chin, and said, "Should we really wait?" He kissed her passionately. Hinata smiled, and replied, "Yes, treasure the time we have together while we're still alone. Knowing you, kids would drive you mad."

Sasuke wrapped his arm around her thin waist. And rested his forehead against hers, and muttered, "Very well." He kissed her again, and held her tightly.

THE END


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